BERT SUGAR PRE FIGHT ANALYSIS

by Bert Sugar

STRENGTHS OF B0TH FIGHTERS

NIKOLAI VALUEV

- Standing seven foot tall and weighing 320

- 330 pounds, this boxing version of Gargantua is so big he has two nicknames: "The Beast from the East" and "The Russian Giant." And can use his enormous advantage in height and weight to overwhelm opponents, most of whom are giving away as much as a foot in height are 100 pounds in weight.

- Has a looooong left jab which he uses as range finder to set up his ponderous but heavy right.

- Prefers to fight from the outside, but if opponent works way in can stiffle them by grabbing and leaning on them and more than occasionally throw a mean elbow from in close.

- Originally promoted as a sideshow act (called "The Eighth Wonder of the World") and still thought of by many boxing observers as one, Valuev looks to use this fight as a showcase to change his image to that of a legitimate heavyweight champion.

MONTE BARRETT

- Has great chin and great resiliency. Down five times against Vladimir Klitschko, got up five times; against Joe Mesi, knocked down and got up to knock Mesi down.

- A crafty, well

- schooled fighter, Barrett has the ability to bewilder the much slower - moving Valuev, especially with combinations.

- Long under boxing's radar, Barrett may be the best opponent Valuev has yet faced. In previous fights with then

- undefeated opponents against whom he was given little chance-- Owen Beck and Dominick Guinn-- Barrett used his "ring smarts" to emerge victorious.

- Looks to make this his, not Valuev's, coming out party and join Floyd Patterson, Riddick Bowe and Mike Tyson as a New York heavyweight champion.

WEAKNESSES OF BOTH FIGHTERS

VALUEV

- Has three gears: slow, slower and forget-about- it. Movement befuddles him and he sometimes looks like a statue without pigeons on his shoulders as he just stands there and waits until his opponent stops moving.

- Although possessing rudimentary skills like doubling up with his jab and following that up with a straight right, Valuev looks like he's fighting under water, especially on defense where he has no reflexes and cannot evade even the most basic of jabs.

- This dreadnaught-- that's a heavyweight bigger than a breadbox and smaller than a battleship-- has difficulty with fighters who can fight on the inside. Especially if he can't suffocate them with his long arms.

BARRETT

- Size, size and size. A huge discrepancy in their respective sizes-- almost making them look 1ike the 1939 Wor1d's Fair symbol-- will put Barrett at a big disadvantage

- With only 17 knockouts in his 35 fights, Barrett's power is questionable. Especially against a power puncher like Valuev.

- Barrett has not always performed up to his potential, (Here witness his lackluster effort in his last fight, against Hasim Rahman.) And must be at his best to handle the 7-foot dreadnaught he's facing in Valuev, not necessarily a given.

WHAT EACH MUST DO TO WIN

VALUEV

- Keep Barrett at arm's length, litera1iy, where he can execute his Lawrence Welk-- a-one-and-a-two left jab and straight right.

- Unable to fight on the inside, Valuev must not let Barrett burrow in as both Larry Donald and John Ruiz did, but keep Barrett outside. And if Barrett does manage to get inside, stiffle and smother him using his weight to lean on him.

- Cannot just stand there and wait for Barrett, as he did more than occasionally with Ruiz, but must take command by pressuring Barrett constantly.

BARRETT

- Must break up Valuev's rhythm, which is a basic double left jab and a right... a double left jab and a right…a double left jab and a right...etc., etc., etc...

- Has to throw combinations, which tend to confuse Valuev.

- Must try to get inside, where Valuev has difficulty using his long arms to execute short punches.

- And, most importantly, in this David-and-Goliath match-up, must try to chop Valuev down to size in a "The bigger they are, the harder they fall" manner by constantly moving in and out with combinations.